The sprawling palace complex was a vision of desolation. It was hard to believe that this scarred landscape of rubble was once the heart of the Bivins Kingdom's sovereign power, the Royal Palace.
Dozens of massive fissures crisscrossed the earth, the shortest stretching over fifty meters. Bestial claw marks were gouged into the ground, rock gardens, pillars, and rafters. Most peculiar of all were the countless smooth, circular holes of varying sizes bored into the debris, their origins a mystery to those who surveyed the wreckage.
Among the ruins lay hundreds of corpses, all clad in the black vestments and white crosses of the Church's clergy and knights.
Haaaaah...
A long, heavy exhale broke the silence.
The towering, battle-scarred werewolf began to shrink rapidly. In the blink of an eye, the beast vanished, replaced by a handsome, blond-haired man.
"Troublesome... they got away," Horkheimer Max muttered, rubbing his temples. His face was deathly pale.
Not far away, Bacano Bane, another of the Obsidian Archbishops, lay in a pile of rubble. He was drenched in blood, his body marred by several deep gashes that exposed bone. Were it not for the faint, rhythmic rise and fall of his chest, he could have easily been mistaken for just another corpse.
"Archbishop Max, are you alright?"
"The Archbishop is wounded! Fetch the medics immediately!"
"Emergency! Archbishop Bane has lost too much blood! Stop the bleeding, now!"
Groups of frantic clergy members hurried back and forth, while over a hundred paladins formed a protective perimeter.
When the Church of the Night first received support from Malha, the leadership had been overjoyed. However, they were no fools. They accepted the aid and prepared for their uprising while simultaneously trying to suss out Malha's true motives.
During the uprising at Valanfort, the Church learned of the CP0 attempt to assassinate Mina, the Chief of the External Affairs Department of the Chris Investigation Bureau.
The involvement of CP0 made one thing clear: the World Government, and perhaps even the Celestial Dragons, were involved.
It revealed the true nature of the conflict. On the surface, it was a multi-faceted struggle between the Chris Pirates, the Church, the Revolutionary Army, and the Noble Council. In reality, the only true players at the board were the Chris Pirates and the clandestine forces of the World Government. The Church, the Revolutionaries, and the Nobles were merely pawns sacrificed by the Government to weaken the Chris Pirates.
Even after realizing this, the Church's high command did not reject the support. They were desperate to expand the Church's influence and transform the Bivins Kingdom into a theocratic state.
They simply hadn't anticipated that the Chris Pirates would be so overwhelmingly powerful. The pirates had crushed all resistance with such ease that the Church was forced to abandon its newly won territories. To avoid being hunted down during their retreat, Max had decided to seize Malha as a bargaining chip, a final insurance policy to negotiate a safe passage with the Chris Pirates.
But Max and Bane had severely underestimated the strength of Malha and Ryūkawa Jiku. Bane had been nearly cleaved in half by Ryūkawa. If not for the Church's sheer numbers causing the duo to hesitate, at least one of the Archbishops would be dead right now, and the other permanently maimed.
Now, the Church had suffered catastrophic casualties without capturing either man. If they encountered the Chris Pirates now, they would be utterly defenseless, left without a single card to play.
…
Bivins Kingdom, Six Great Forts, Ronalfort!
Over a dozen pirate ships were anchored in the Laende River, less than a kilometer from the castle. Lined up in a formidable row, the "Golden Ring" flags, crossed swords over a skull, fluttered proudly in the wind.
After annihilating the Revolutionary Army at the Red River Wasteland, the Grand Flying Fleet of the Chris Pirates had stationed itself at Ronalfort to recuperate. The local nobles who had defected were falling over themselves to curry favor, delivering a constant stream of gourmet food, beautiful women, gold, silver, and jewels.
Fortunately, the Officers of the Chris Pirates were men and women of the world. Backed by the World Neutral Zone, their personal wealth far eclipsed that of these local nobles. Still, they adhered to a simple policy: they didn't ask for gifts, but they certainly didn't refuse them.
Suspended several hundred meters in the air above the castle, the massive Chris hovered like a dark cloud, a silent, floating testament to absolute military might.
The ship's deck was crowded. Officers of the Chris Pirates and dozens of noble representatives from Ronalfort were all gathered for a boisterous banquet, celebrating the eradication of the Noble Council.
"Oh! Keep the drinks coming!"
"Cheers! Bottoms up!"
"Hahaha! A toast to the Captain!"
"Enel-sama! You sure can hold your liquor!"
The atmosphere was electric. Trays of exquisite food and bottles of fine wine moved incessantly. Even Enel, who rarely indulged, was sporting a flushed, red face.
The ornately dressed nobles exerted themselves to the limit, flattery dripping from their tongues as they toasted every Officer they could find.
"Aeridar-sama, your divine might is truly peerless! To serve under your command is the greatest honor of our lives!" a middle-aged noble, Marquis Argyle, said with a polite but sycophantic smile as he raised his glass.
"Haha... Marquis Argyle, 'peerless' is a bit much. I just have a few tricks up my sleeve," Aeridar replied, his face slightly flushed. He waved a hand modestly. Though the flattery felt good, he remained sober enough to avoid making a fool of himself.
"Aeridar-sama is too humble! This is far more than just 'a few tricks'!" Marquis Argyle continued with exaggerated wonder. "With your strength, I daresay you aren't a step behind the Yonko!"
"Damn right!" Abel, standing nearby with a bottle in hand, added with a drunken, disdainful huff. "If the Captain didn't have his heart set on something else, there'd be no room for the likes of Blackbeard!"
"Exactly! Precisely! Captain Abel speaks the truth!" Marquis Argyle nodded vigorously, giving Abel a thumbs-up.
Hearing these "truths," the alcohol-induced pride in Aeridar's chest swelled a bit.
"Captain!"
Suddenly, Mina hurried through the crowd toward Aeridar, signaling for Argyle and Abel to step aside.
Seeing Mina's grave expression, Marquis Argyle tactfully retreated, while Abel's drunken haze cleared slightly as he stumbled off to the side.
"What's happened?" Aeridar asked, his eyes narrowing.
"Intelligence just came in from Crofort. A fierce battle broke out at the Royal Palace. The Church of the Night's high-level combatants took heavy losses. One of the three Obsidian Archbishops, Bacano Bane, is critically injured, they're reportedly still trying to save him," Mina said in a low voice.
"What?!" Aeridar's buzz vanished instantly. "Give me the details. What exactly happened?"
"Our agents spotted Malha and Ryūkawa. It seems they were injured. It appears they were the ones backing the Church from the shadows, but the two parties have clearly had a falling out," Mina explained calmly.
"Crimson Malha! Ryūkawa Jiku! Excellent... we finally have their trail!" Aeridar's tone was airy, but a ferocious, predatory grin slowly spread across his face.